Susie 2
by SharkLover3000
Summary: Susie forgives Dan and they love each other, but soon things start to go wrong as she is attacked by two sharks.


_Susie_

_Part 2_

The pool remained still, and Dan continued for twenty minutes before

finally deciding that she wasn't coming back. He went to the spring, and

used the fresh water to wash off his face.

The next few days were quiet and lonely for Dan, and he realized just how

big a difference Susie had made in his life. Fishing was not only more

difficult, he just didn't feel like trying. It just didn't feel right

anymore, since Susie had actually made getting his daily meal enjoyable.

Dan spent a lot of his time moping around, wondering why he had been so

cruel to her, or splashing the water, calling for her. He even tried

sticking his face under the water and calling her name, but it all seemed

to be for nothing. Susie never answered. More than once Dan awoke from a

sound sleep, sure that he heard her, but he never saw her, nor even a

ripple in the pond to indicate that she had been there. He felt she was

gone forever.

An odd rising, then falling, wailing sound woke Dan up one night, and he

looked around in the dark for the source. His eyes, quickly adjusted to the

dim light of the night, quickly picked up a shape on the beach, and he

recognized it as a dolphin.

"Susie?" he whispered, getting up to run over to it. The wail sounded

again, coming right from the dolphin.

As he approached her, he saw a shaft, roughly a foot long with a ragged

end, sticking out of her back. Dan carefully ran his hand down her back,

around the shaft. He soon felt the roughness of the healed shark bite, and

knew it was indeed Susie.

"Oh, Susie! What happened to you? Just a moment, I've got to stoke the

fire. I need light!"

He splashed some water onto her back, and rubbed her lightly. Then he ran

to the dying fire and threw a few dry leaves on it. Blowing gently on it,

he quickly had a flame going, and added to it with more dry leaves, and

then some sticks. Quickly, he ran back to Susie, and examined the shaft in

the flickering light.

It had been a hand-thrown wooden-shafted spear, and the shaft had broken

off. The point penetrated into her skin, he wasn't sure how far. The blood

around the wound had already largely dried, and yet, a small flow

continued. Susie moved in discomfort as he felt the shaft.

"It's ok, Susie. I'm going to help you. I don't know how, but God knows,

I'm going to help you."

Susie's voice was weak, and yet, somehow urgent as she vocalized a question

in reply.

"brr-e-ee?" she asked.

Dan recognized the question that she'd asked before, and it seemed so long

ago. All his anguish and guilt came out, and he wrapped his arms around

her, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

"Yes, Susie, yes! I love you, and I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! I'm

so sorry! Please, you have to get better, I couldn't forgive myself if you

died!"

"ee-eooo," replied Susie, weakly. Her eyes closed, briefly, and then opened

again, and she tried to move, but she was obviously very weak.

"Don't try to move," Dan told her, standing up. He wiped his eyes dry, and

took another look at the spear.

"We have to get that out," he said. "I don't know how deep it is.." He

turned to look Susie in the eye. "It's going to hurt, and it's going to

bleed. Please know that I'm trying to help you. I don't want to hurt you,

but I have to."

Susie replied with a weakly rising whistle. Dan hoped that it was a sign of

understanding. He walked over to the fire and took a stick, about the same

size as the spear, which was burning well on one end. He walked back to

Susie. She didn't move.

"I'm going to try to use this to cauterize the wound, Susie. I'm hoping it

will stop the bleeding, okay?"

Susie only blinked. Her eyes were cloudy with pain, and Dan realized that

he had to act quickly.

"Okay." He went over to the side where the spear was, and wiggled it

slightly to try to determine it's depth and how securely it was lodged.

Susie whistled her rising-falling tone again, weakly.

"Susie, I'm sorry, I'm not trying to hurt you. Please, I'm doing the best I

can."

The spear wasn't as deep as he'd previously feared, just over an inch into

her flesh. He saw that the point was metal, and had short barbs on it. He

also saw that his movement had started the blood flowing more freely. Dan

ran back to his bed and grabbed the remains of his shirt, which he had been

using as a pillow. He soaked the shirt quickly in the spring, and ran back

to Susie.

"I'm trying, Susie, I really am. Please hang on."

Susie uttered a weak moan. Dan rubbed her back lightly.

"I'm going to try to remove the spear now."

He turned to her, and began to tilt the spear to free one of the barbs,

hoping not to make the wound much worse than it was. Susie flinched, and

Dan let go quickly, trying not to drive the spear in.

"Susie, please try to stay still!"

He continued working on the spear, trying not to cause Susie much pain.

Sweat began to bead on his forehead with his concentration, and his heart

pounded as he saw the increased flow of blood.

Finally, he had to spear ready to remove. He glanced at the stick, which

had burned out. It was too late to get another now, he'd have to make do

with a bandage.

"Here goes," he whispered. He pulled the spear free from Susie's side. She

flinched again, and he quickly slammed the shirt against the wound and

folded it into a pad.

The flow of blood was not as much as he'd expected, but he was somewhat

concerned by it anyway. He held the pad firmly against the wound, hoping to

slow or stop the bleeding quickly. He rubbed her side and spoke quietly to

her, and she remained quiet. He thought that she seemed to be in less pain,

though.

After a few minutes, he cautiously removed the shirt. The blood flow had

slowed to a small trickle. Dan washed the shirt in the spring, and lightly

rubbed the cool water all over Susie's body. He almost thought she smiled

at him as he rubbed down her face, and he felt that everything would be all

right. After he rubbed her down so she was sufficiently damp, he returned

his pressure to the wound.

He kept up this pattern for about an hour, until he felt the wound had

stopped bleeding enough to be safe. It was much smaller a wound than he had

thought it would be, but still, he realized that if he hadn't removed the

spear that Susie would likely have died from it.

"Why would anyone try to hurt someone as beautiful as you?" asked Dan.

Susie moved her head up towards him, looking for more personal attention,

and Dan obliged by rubbing her beak and melon. "Susie, I'm sorry I chased

you away, please don't leave me again. I really thought about it, and I

couldn't think of any sensible reason why we can't be friends...and lovers.

I really need you in my life."

Susie replied with a light whistle, and Dan was content. "Let's get you

back into the water, you can't stay on the beach with me."

Susie was soon enough back in the water, and resting in the shallows. The

water and the movement had opened the wound up a bit, but there was very

little new blood, and Dan felt that she would actually be all right now. He

was glad, and he hugged her.

Dan slept in the shallows, as near to Susie as he could, for a short while.

He woke up, and looked over at Susie, still resting. She was sitting on the

bottom, though there was enough water for her to move.

"Susie?" asked Dan. "Are you all right?"

Susie replied with a weak whistle. Dan realized that she would need a few

days to get her strength back, if she moved too much now she might rip the

wound wide open again. He'd have to get food for her.

He gathered up his spear. He considered using the spear that he had pulled

out of Susie, but he couldn't bring himself to touch it. The thought of

using it himself disgusted him. He made a mental note to bury it somewhere

later.

"Susie, stay here and rest. I have to get some food for both of us."

She looked up at him. He saw a depth in her eyes that he hadn't realized

before, and something that implied love and trust, and most of all,

understanding. He shook his head, unsure as to whether what he saw was real

or not. He gave Susie another hug, and a kiss on the melon.

"I'll be back soon," he promised. Then he waded into the water and swam out

of the cave.

He began his fishing with a renewed vigour and purpose that he hadn't

experienced in anything he'd ever really done before. Someone was counting

on him, and he couldn't let her down. He wouldn't let her down.

He reached the best fishing spot, off a point of the island. Susie had

brought him to this spot before, but now he would have to catch the fish

himself. He moved slowly, and smoothly, so as to not alert the fish that

were in the area.

Then he saw one, a big one. It was moving slowly nearby, almost ignoring

him. Dan stopped, watching it. He'd let fish like this escape him in the

past, but not this one. It was a start.

The fish paused, testing the waters. Dan tensed up, readying himself for a

lunge if the fish should take off.

The fish seemed to decide that all was well, and continued meandering

around, looking for food.

Dan struck, jabbing his spear smoothly and skillfully into the water. He

raised it up, hoping beyond hope.

He had it!

Things went well for Dan. He caught three fish in total, then decided he

had better get back and check on Susie.

She was roughly where he had left her, but she had turned around to watch

the mouth of the cave. He felt the sandstorm effect on his body when he

swam in, then heard a slightly weak whistle of greeting.

"Hi Susie," he called, "I have dinner!"

She whistled back, and started to wriggle out of the shallows to swim

towards him.

"Stay there," called Dan, stopping. "Don't hurt yourself, I'll bring it to

you."

She seemed to understand, and stopped moving. Dan swam up to her, and laid

out the fish on the beach. Susie was trying to turn around again, and Dan

picked up the biggest fish and waded into the water in front of her, so she

could see him.

"This one is for you, Susie. It's my turn to give you a present."

He offered it to her, and she opened her mouth. He carefully placed the

fish in her mouth, and she seemed to taste it for a moment before closing

her mouth and swallowing it.

"Good.. good. You're eating! Wait! I'll get you another one."

Dan waded back to the shore and grabbed the other two fish. He brought them

back in front of Susie, and offered her another. She hesitated, then took

it.

"You must really be hungry, Susie. How long since you ate? Do you want the

last one?"

Susie did not open her mouth for the third fish, turning her head away from

it.

"What's wrong, Susie? Are you full?"

Susie replied by lifting her head towards him, a movement Dan had come to

realize meant that she wanted him to pet her, and he happily obliged.

"Susie, I'm so glad you'll be all right."

The wound healed quickly over the next few days, and a week later only a

small scar showed where the spear had penetrated. Dan had also noticed a

small scar where he had struck her with the rock, and it served as a

constant reminder to him. He apologized to Susie for it countless times,

and she always responded by lifting her head, asking him to pet her. She

seemed to forgive him, but Dan was unsure if he'd ever fully forgive

himself.

Most times with her were very happy, however. They quickly got back into

their old routine - him trying to sleep, and her waking him after a few

hours. When awake, they spent most of their time together. Susie

occasionally went off on her own, but she never seemed to be gone for more

than an hour or so. Dan did wonder what she did when he was sleeping, but

he suspected that she tried to amuse herself, and woke him up when she ran

out of ideas.

One day, while they were in the shallows, Susie began trying to arouse him

again. Dan pulled back, and stopped rubbing her body. She looked at him,

curiously, and wriggled towards him again, and again Dan pulled back.

"Beeeeeeee?" asked Susie. She didn't seem to understand.

Dan thought hard, and was silent for several minutes. He wasn't sure if he

was ready for this again. Even though he'd convinced himself that it was

merely an act of love, somehow it still didn't seem right.

"Susie, I don't know if you can understand this, but I'm not ready yet."

She looked at him, and the question in her eyes dissolved. She moved her

flipper lightly up the side of his chest, and then drew it away from his

body. She then moved back so that she was laying nearly face-to-face with

him again, and looked him close up in the eye. From a slight distance she

could look straight at him, but close up she had to use only one eye to

look at him, and she did so now. Dan had realized that whether she used one

eye or two, she was still looking with the same intensity, still trying to

convey to him what she was feeling in her mind and in her heart.

Somehow, looking into her eye, he realized that she understood, and

accepted him. He thought that she was telling him that she would wait as

long as it took for him to be ready. Dan laughed and hugged her, rolling

her over in the shallow water.

She squealed with happy surprise, and started to rub herself against him,

but he drew away.

"No, Susie, I'm not ready."

She stopped, and uttered a lower falling tone whistle, and a few clicks.

She sounded very disappointed.

"I'm sorry, Susie. I have to be ready for this. I wasn't ready last time."

He got off her, and helped her roll upright again. Then he did not touch

her.

"Brr-eee?" asked Susie, quietly.

Dan turned to her, wishing he knew exactly how to tell her why he wasn't

ready, wishing he knew himself. The language Susie understood best was the

language of his touch, and his caresses. Body contact was important to her,

and he could understand how such a custom might lead to frequent sexual

acts. But he'd only really accepted the touching for now, he felt that he

couldn't go further yet... and accept it.

"Susie, yes, you know I love you." He ran his fingers lightly down her

back, away from the rough tissue of the shark bite, down to her flukes,

then back up to the top of her melon again. Then, on impulse, he started to

massage the muscles of her back and tail.

She seemed to love it, and she arched her back into his hands, as he rubbed

and massaged her. Her skin was soft, and her muscles were firm as he

stretched and squeezed them. Susie uttered a few warbling tones of

pleasure, and Dan smiled. He continued massaging her, slowly working his

way down towards her flukes, and across her entire body. When he reached

her flukes, he reached underneath and began to massage her underside. She

rolled over a bit to make it easier for him.

Dan hesitated a moment when she rolled over, then continued massaging,

avoiding her vagina. He looked up at her face, and thought for a moment

there was a playful gleam in her eye, one that said "Next time I'll get

you!"

Dan chuckled. "Maybe next time you will," he replied.

The next few weeks were pretty routine. Susie didn't try to push herself on

him anymore, she just lay next to him in the shallows and cuddled with him,

like she usually did. Dan appreciated that she was so patient, and vowed

silently to himself that he would make her happy one day soon.

Dan gradually felt his acceptance of Susie, and his love for her, growing

stronger and more certain. Her gentle and unconditional acceptance of him

fed the flames of his love. Not once was she ever angry with him, and she

was never away from him for more than a few hours. At the same time Dan

began to subconsciously recognize more and more of Susie's gestures and

movements, and he could almost always tell what was on her mind, or what

she wanted to tell him. He still spoke to her, but he knew that she

understood by his tone, his gestures, and his touch, far more than by the

words he spoke. In much the same way, this was how he understood her.

One night, Dan had a dream. He'd been on the island with Susie for five or

six months, and it caught him off-guard, because he dreamt of Kathy. In the

dream she was married to him, and they were cuddling on the couch in his

living room. They began kissing heavily, and he removed her top. She was

not wearing a bra, and her large breasts fell out, and he kissed and

massaged them. He removed her pants, and kissed her while she removed his

shirt and pants. Then he drew close to her, and wrapped his arms around

her, holding her tight against his body as he kissed her. He lightly ran

his hand down her back, and suddenly felt the rough tissue of Susie's

healed shark bite. It didn't bother him in the dream, that Kathy had

suddenly become Susie, and he continued kissing and rubbing her as he had

been.

Suddenly they were on the beach, and he was making love to her. Susie was

uttering her half-squeal and half-moan of pleasure, and Dan could almost

feel her skin against his.

He felt that he'd finally crossed the boundary in his mind that had held

him back for so long. Finally he felt he could accept her love in all it's

forms... that it didn't matter if Susie was human or dolphin, because they

loved each other.

He woke up, erect and sweating. He knew now that he was ready to be a

complete partner with Susie. But he would wait until later to show her, he

didn't want lust to be his drive as much as his love. He closed his eyes

again, ignoring the throbbing in his loins, and was soon asleep again.

Naturally, he didn't sleep much longer before Susie's impatient chatter

woke him up. He rubbed his eyes and sat up wearily.

"I don't believe it, Susie. You let me sleep in today by what, ten, fifteen

minutes?"

"REEEE-oo!" replied Susie happily. Dan chuckled and went into the water.

She swam up to him, and he hugged her tightly against his body. He gave her

a quick kiss on the end of her beak. Susie backed off, and keeping her head

above the water, spun around a few times, then fell into the water in a

mock swoon. Instantly she was poking her head up again, looking at him for

approval.

"Eh-eh-eh-eh-eh!" she laughed.

Dan chuckled, too. "Where did you learn that one?" he asked. Susie merely

swam back up to him, and wrapped her flippers around his body in another

embrace. Dan hugged her back.

"So, Susie," he began. "You ready for breakfast now?"

Later that night, Dan and Susie lay cuddling in the shallows again. Dan

never tired of her soft, smooth skin against his, and it seemed that she

never tired of his company, either. Dan remembered his dream, and the

memory aroused him slightly. He began massaging Susie's body again. Susie

sighed, happily, and relaxed, and Dan looked up at her face. She looked

content and happy, and Dan wondered how best to communicate his intent.

Slowly, he worked his hands down to her underside, and began massaging her

stomach area. Susie rolled onto her side a bit to give him better access,

and as he rubbed he looked down at her vaginal slit. He watched as the lips

parted slightly, then closed while she waved her tail slowly in the warm

water, and he felt himself becoming more aroused.

He began to work his hands down towards it, slowly, massaging fully along

the way. When he reached it, he began to massage the area around the slit,

staying a few inches back at first, and gradually moving his fingers

closer. Making small circles on her skin, he began to allow himself to

brush past the lips, and slowly, to close in on them. Susie made a small,

happy sounding squeak, and rolled over a little more. In the shallow water,

her vagina was almost fully out of the water, and Dan slowly inserted a

finger, and used his thumb to rub against her clitoris.

Susie closed her eyes and opened her mouth in a silent sigh as Dan felt her

vaginal muscles begin to pull and massage his finger, and he moved it

around inside her, feeling her become more and more lubricated. The area

around her slit took on a bright pinkish color, which spread slowly up her

belly.

He bent down towards her, and began kissing her skin above the slit,

kissing his way down towards it. Lightly at first, he licked the outside of

her pussy lips, tasting the salt from the water and the slight tang of her

juices. He removed his finger and allowed his tongue to probe more deeply

for a few moments, before finding her clitoris with it, and licking and

sucking on it.

Susie was writhing and squealing in pleasure at the treatment, and Dan

placed his finger back inside her pussy, while continuing to tease her

clitoris with his tongue. Suddenly Susie's body stiffened slightly, and Dan

felt her orgasm, a long, powerful contraction of her vaginal muscles

pulling hard at his finger.

He backed off, and slowly removed his finger. Susie was looking at him with

a combination of love and lust in her eyes, and he stood up and removed his

well-worn jeans. He laid down again next to Susie, and looked her in the

eye a moment before kissing her again. Again their tongues met, and Dan

felt more aroused and in love than he could ever remember being. He reached

down, and slowly guided himself into her.

They both reacted with a gasp and a sigh as he entered her, and she began

to work on him. The sensations were even more powerful and felt even better

than before, as her pussy stroked, squeezed and sucked on his penis. He

thrust, slowly, letting her muscles do most of the work.

He wrapped his arms around her body, feeling the love flow between them as

their souls themselves merged into one being. Susie turned a bit, and

wrapped her flippers around him as best she could. She then moved her tail

up between his legs, and wrapped her flukes around one of his feet.

Dan felt enveloped in love and warmth, and he let himself go, coming deep

inside of her. Before he was done he felt her stiffen and contract more

forcefully again, and they rested together. Dan left his penis inside of

her as long as he could, but, finally, he lost his erection and rolled

back, allowing Susie to pull herself upright again. She made her way over

to him, before he had time to sit up and face her, and he stroked her face

in his hands, gazing deeply into her eyes.

"I love you, Susie. I'm going to stay with you forever."

For once, Susie was quiet, apparently content to be held and pet.

Days passed, and Dan and Susie were closer than they had ever been. Dan had

found perfect happiness and all the love he had ever wanted with Susie, and

he felt that she loved him just as much as he loved her. They spent all

their time together, playing games, sharing quiet moments, and making love.

Making love didn't bother Dan anymore, though Susie could be a demanding

partner on occasion. But Dan didn't mind, he loved her so much he was

willing to show her any way he could.

Occasionally Susie would bring him things she had found, too. She seemed to

recognize that they had come from the human world. Over time, Dan collected

a large number of items, including a portable radio (not working, Dan

didn't know if it was just the battery or if the water had destroyed it),

several sets of swim fins, a snorkle, three masks, two watches, a couple

more lighters, a jacknife, and even a few pieces of jewelery. He often used

the fins while playing with Susie, but was uncomfortable with the snorkle

and found the masks awkward. The knife proved very useful for cleaning fish

and cutting spears.

Over time, Dan also got better at making things out of the plants that

populated the island, and spent many evenings building a net out of twisted

vines, to help him catch fish more easily. He also diverted the flow of the

fresh water, and dug a small pit high on the beach to hold the fresh water

before it ran into the sea. Life was good. Simple, fun, and full of love.

One day he and Susie had abandonded their fishing to play tag. Dan found

that Susie was far more maneuverable and quick in the water than he was,

and as such, he was almost always 'it'. But she stayed in a fairly small

area to make it easier for him. It no longer amazed him how quickly she

could pick up on new games. He was used to it, and expected it.

Suddenly, she stopped, and faced away from the beach.

"Susie, what is it?" ased Dan. She swam out a few feet, where the water

dropped deeper, and Dan saw her drop her tail and point her flukes out in

the direction she was facing. She was making the creaking noise, that Dan

knew meant she was examining something.

He looked, but saw nothing above or below the surface. He swam out to her.

Susie turned quickly towards him, and uttered a single high-pitched

whistle. She began pushing him, butting lightly against his chest.

"What is it?" he asked again, urgently. Susie stopped, suddenly, and

chattered at him, even more quickly than usual. Dan saw a look of fear in

her eyes, and a plead that he hurry.

Slightly shaken, Dan turned for the beach and began to swim. Susie came up

behind him and started pushing on his rear. It was only a short distance to

the shore, and with Susie's help he was on it in seconds.

"Susie? ..." Dan stopped when he stood up and looked at the water. Susie

turned too. In the distance Dan saw three triangular dorsal fins slashing

through the surface of the water, heading roughly towards them.

"Sharks!" cried Dan in recognition. Panicked, he ran back to Susie and

leapt on her.

"Come on," he cried, tugging at her. "We have to get you out of the

water!"

Susie struggled against him, whistling and chattering. She was too heavy

for Dan to lift, and he grabbed her flukes and tried dragging her. All he

could think was to get her onto the beach where she would be safe.

The sharks had apparently detected the struggle, and had turned slightly to

be bearing directly towards them. They were fairly close when Susie

suddenly took action. She flicked her tail, causing Dan to lose his grip

and fall backwards into the water. With a quick turn, she charged hard at

Dan, and struck him. He was knocked back several feet, and landed at the

edge of the water. The wind knocked out of him, he lay there trying

desperately to catch his breath, as he watched.

Susie then tried to flee into the ocean, but the sharks were already upon

her, and were circling. Susie turned this way and that, but was unable to

find an opening. Every so often the sharks darted in towards her, and she

snapped at them, driving them back.

Suddenly she charged at one, and struck it in the gills with her beak.

Blood flowed, and the shark swam wobbily off a bit. Susie charged and

struck again, and the shark began to sink, leaving two. The two remaining

sharks quickened their motions, and, excited by the blood, grew more daring

in their attacks.

Susie's movements also became quicker, and more agitated, as the sharks

still blocked her every escape attempt. She charged again, and a second

shark sank, oozing blood from it's broken gills.

The last shark took advantage of Susie's turning away from him, and

attacked as Susie backed off from her charge. It bit down solidly on her

flukes, and Susie screamed a loud, rising whistle. The shark shook

violently, tearing the fins, but released her, finding no meat there.

She tried to manuever for another charge, but the pain and the physical

damage to her tail was making it difficult. Dan saw that he had to help.

Panting, still trying to get his breath back, he grabbed his fishing spear

off the beach, where he had tossed it to play, and leapt into the water.

The shark, sensing a victory, charged again, and latched onto Susie's lower

flank with it's huge jaws. Susie screamed again, with a loud rising then

falling whistle of pain. The shark held on tightly as Susie shook hard,

trying to free herself from it's grip.

Dan reached them quickly, and threw his entire body into driving the spear

into the shark's body. He struck, and the shark released it's hold, and

began thrashing violently. It's teeth slashed Dan's chest and arms, and he

began to bleed, but he held on. Soon the shark's thrashing slowed, then

ceased. Dan sighed, panting, and looked around. The water was cloudy with

blood, and he couldn't see Susie.

"Susie?" he called, splashing the water. She surfaced, weakly, near him,

then almost immediately began to sink again. Dan ran over and grabbed her,

trying to hold her up. She whistled her pain cry again, and Dan looked at

her side. A large chunk of her flesh had been torn off, and she was

bleeding badly. Through the water it was hard to tell, but Dan feared it

was even worse than first glance.

"Susie! Susie!" he cried, hugging her. "I'm so sorry! This is my fault.. I

should have left the water when you told me to! I should have trusted you!"

Susie whistled weakly. Dan moved back, and tried to get a better position

to hold her at the surface.

"Come on," he said. "We have to get back to the cave. We'll be safe

there."

They finally got back into the cave. Dan found all the way that he had to

help Susie stay near the surface, and she seemed to be in a great deal of

pain. He felt extremely guilty, feeling that it was his fault she was hurt.

He was also very afraid that she was going to die.

He led her over to the shallow water, and then faced her. Her eyes were

cloudy with pain, and yet, he saw a spark of love in them, too. He smiled

for a moment, then he ran his eyes down her body and saw the blood.

"Rest for a moment, Susie. I have to block the entrance, so that more

sharks can't get in here."

He took the net he had made, and strung it as best he could across the

mouth of the cave, catching it on rocks on either side. When he was

satisfied that it would stay, he swam quickly back to Susie, laying half in

and half out of the water. She was laying very still.

"Susie!" he yelled, frightened.

She moved slightly, and opened her eyes to look at him. He saw pain, and a

plead for help. The water around her was already red with her blood, and

Dan felt very sick with fear. The wound was very bad, and quite large, and

Susie was having a hard time keeping her eyes open.

Dan looked wildly around the beach, and spied the remains of his shirt,

still slightly stained from the spear, despite his efforts to clean it. He

ran for it, and washed it off in the spring. He then grabbed a few extra

vines, and ran back to Susie.

She whistled weakly in pain as he spread the shirt over her wound, and

began tying it on tightly with the vines.

"Susie, Susie," he kept repeating. "Please be all right. PLEASE! I need

you! I'm sorry!"

She moaned slightly, and opened her eyes. She raised her head, giving him

the 'I need attention' pose, only much more slowly and weakly than usual.

"I have to finish tying this, Susie! Please!"

"err--oo," she replied, very quietly. Again she raised her head, pleading

with him with her eyes.

Dan shook his head, fighting the tears and the anger.

"No," he cried, "no! Susie, no! You're going to be all right!"

She looked at him again, and her eyes were very sad. The cloudiness of her

pain was in the background, and Dan could see right into her soul.

"Brr-eee," she sounded, weakly. 'You love me,' read Dan. A statement, this

time, and not a question.

"Err...err-ooo," she finished. 'I love you.'

In his heart, Dan knew she was dying. He could see that she knew as well.

She was telling him goodbye. His pain surfaced with surprising force, and

he wrapped his arms around her, laying over her. Tears poured from his

eyes, and he called her name over and over.

"Susie, no!" he sobbed. "Please don't leave me! Susie!"

Susie watched him, sadness in her eyes. He felt closer to her than he ever

had, and he heard her thoughts as if they were his own.

'I'm sorry, my time is done. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being

my mate. I loved you, always remember that. I will always be with you, in

your heart.'

Susie closed her eyes one last time. She shuddered slightly, and then

exhaled one final sigh. Her flukes stopped moving, and she was gone.

Dan's sobbing began again, with new force, and he lay with her for a long

time, holding her, and sobbing at his loss.

Dan buried Susie on the opposite beach from the attack, far from the

sharks. In another way it felt like the best place, because Dan and Susie

had spent evenings here, watching the sun set. Dan hadn't been sure, at the

time, if Susie appreciated the sunsets the way he had. Now, however, he was

sure that she had, if only because it was important to him.

It took him a long time, and he cried a lot. But he was eventually

finished. No more would he hear her happy chirp, nor feel the soft warmth

of her caress. He looked up into the sky, tears streaming down his face,

and prayed that she was in a good place.

He looked a long time for a suitable marker, and finally found a large,

flat rock. He struggled to drag it over to the grave, but finally got it

there. Using the knife, he chipped an inscription.

"Susie - My love, I will remember."

He stood by the grave, head down, and cried some more.

He spent the next few days sitting on the top of the cliff, over his cave,

staring out at the sea. Several times, well off in the distance, he noticed

boats speeding around. But he did not care.

Once, he saw a pod of dolphins swimming past the island, a mile or two out.

He watched them, but they did not come towards the island, and he was

saddened.

During this time, Dan did not eat, and he drank very little. His health was

getting poor, but he did not notice, or care to notice. All he cared was

that Susie was gone.

One day he heard an odd chopping noise above the island, and he looked up,

weakly. He watched with amazement as a helicopter approached the island,

and stopped over the beach, lowering itself behind the trees so that Dan

could not see what was happening.

He realized with a start that it was the beach where he had buried Susie,

and he got up, and began a weak, stumbling run towards it, to see what was

happening.

He reached the beach to see the helicopter floating on the quiet sea, on

pontoons, and two men standing in the sand. One was just standing up in

front of the marker when the other noticed Dan, and pointed at him. They

were both wearing t-shirts and new blue-jeans, and the first one was

wearing a cap. The second wore no hat, but had neatly trimmed dark hair.

The man with the cap looked over, and saw Dan as he stepped out onto the

beach. He was long unshaven, and wearing only his badly worn and faded

jeans. He was also rather thin and pale from lack of eating over the last

few days.

"Good lord!" called the man. He ran up to Dan. "Are you alright?"

Dan blinked in confusion. "Wh.. what are you doing here?" he asked. His

voice was dry from lack of food and water.

"We were flying around, out by the mainland there," the man pointed out

over the water, "and my partner was looking around with his binoculars."

The man with the dark hair held up a pair of binoculars. "He saw a couple

of flashes of light from here, and we came to check it out."

He handed a knife to Dan. It was the one he had used to carve the grave

marker. "Found this in the sand. Lucky for you we came, I guess!"

He grew serious for a moment. "But, I'm... sorry about your wife."

"My wife?" asked Dan, absently taking the knife.

"'Susie'," replied the man, pointing at the marker.

"Susie," repeated Dan slowly, turning his head downward and squeezing his

eyes to shut off the tears that were starting to flow already.

"Poor guy," muttered the man with the dark hair. "Least we can do is take

him back to the mainland."

"Yup," replied the man in the cap. "Hey, buddy," he said to Dan. "Come on,

it'll be all right. Get in the helicopter, and we'll take you home."

Dan obediantly waded into the water, and the man with the dark hair helped

him into the helicopter, seating him in the back. The other two men climbed

into the front seats, and closed the door.

They began to warm up the engine, and the machine began to make it's

chopping sounds. The man with the cap turned back.

"What's your name, buddy?" he asked.

Dan paused, thinking slowly, weakly. His thoughts were still muddled with

the pain of his loss.

"My.. name," he replied. It came to him, slowly. "Dan," he stated.

The helicopter lifted off the water, and began to fly across it.

"Well, Dan," said the man with the cap, "my name is Doug, and that there is

Steve."

"How long were you on that island?" asked Steve.

"I.. don't know," replied Dan.

"Well, don't you worry," Doug told him. "We're going to have you back in

civilization in no time!"

Civilization. The word struck a chord in Dan's mind. It echoed in his head,

looking for a place to seat itself, where it's meaning would finally be

recognized.

Finally, it found a place. Civilization. War. Suffering. Violence. Crime.

Civilization. Guilt. Blame. Threats. Punishment. Civilization. Hatred.

Greed. Loneliness.

Dan looked up, suddenly. "NO!" he yelled. Doug and Steve looked back at

him, startled, as he jumped up and grabbed the door handle. Dan could not

go back to a life without love. He would not go back to a world more

interested in making money than having love. He would take his chances in

the ocean, where, when love happens, it's not crushed in pursuit of the

perfect ideal or greatest profit. He opened the door, and jumped.


End file.
